Man seen playing with fire hours before deadly Bronx blaze
Video obtained by News 12 shows a man appearing to play with fire in the building’s hallway around 2 a.m. — nearly six hours before the blaze broke out.
Police are taking a closer look at a deadly Bronx fire after video surfaced appearing to show a man playing with fire inside the building hours before flames broke out.
The fire happened Wednesday morning at 1484 Montgomery Ave. in Morris Heights.
Video obtained by News 12 shows a man appearing to play with fire in the building’s hallway around 2 a.m. — nearly six hours before the blaze broke out.
A neighbor told News 12 the man had been lighting things on fire in the building for weeks.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the fire was intentionally set, but investigators are treating the scene as a crime scene.
The FDNY arrived around 7:45 a.m. and encountered heavy flames that quickly spread to several apartments.
Seven residents and four firefighters were injured. One person died.
Neighbors said the man seen in the video jumped from a fourth-floor window. Police said the 31-year-old man is in critical but stable condition.
The American Red Cross has registered 24 households for emergency assistance, including 41 adults and 26 children — 67 people total.
Residents said they had raised concerns about conditions inside the building before Wednesday’s fire.
“All my worldly possessions are gone. I’m glad that me, my children are safe. But… we live in fear, constantly living in fear,” one resident said.
Council Member Pierina Sanchez also spoke with residents who were still recovering from a fire at the same building in August.
“There have been a doubling of fires in the Bronx over the last three years,” Sanchez said. “Something is going on here.”
According to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the building has 151 open violations.
The Department of Buildings said inspectors are checking the building to determine whether the fire doors were functioning properly.
News 12 reached out to building management for comment and was waiting to hear back.
The investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing.
